War For The Planet Of The Apes Review: 10 Ups & 1 Down

3. All The Homages To Classic Movies

War is indebted to a wide array of classic movies, and wears these references on its sleeve in highly entertaining and emotionally resonant fashion.

Not only are there nods to many of the classic Apes movies, but Apocalypse Now is perhaps the most obvious touchstone, what with Woody Harrelson's decidedly Colonel Kurtz-esque character and a piece of graffiti that literally reads "Ape-pocalypse Now" written on an underground tunnel.

Then there's the Ape prison, which is instantly reminiscent of the likes of The Great Escape, Ben-Hur and Schindler's List.

None of these references feel cheap or lazy, but rather cleverly re-contextualised inside a very different film, one that's highly literary for a movie of this cost and scope, and all the better for it.